Tough Crowd: Arizona High School Students Evaluate Their Schools

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Arizona’s tax code makes it difficult for parents who want to send their children to private schools by making them pay for education twice: both with their taxes and private school tuition. That’s a mistake. The findings detailed in this report show that aside from being less expensive and more effective, students themselves are more satisfied in a private school environment than their public school counterparts.

In November 2008, Strategic Vision, LLC, surveyed Arizona high school students at both public and private schools. Students were asked to evaluate their schools based on a number of factors including the overall level of academic focus, the degree to which schools offer challenging courses, and whether or not their school’s staff cares about the students. Students also assessed whether their schools treat all students with respect regardless of race and ethnicity.

Several disturbing findings emerged: Among Arizona public school students, 59 percent gave their schools an overall letter grade of C, D or F; only 40 percent agreed that their schools treat all students with respect regardless of race or ethnicity; 48 percent believe that their school has high expectations of them; and only 44 percent report challenging classes or academically challenging work.

Most revealing was the difference a private school made in the students’ attitude toward going to school in general. Only 47 percent of public school students said they “look forward” to going to school, compared with 66 percent of private school students.

Unfortunately, although the data shows students are significantly more satisfied in private schools, too few Arizona students are able to access private school education. Arizona lawmakers should expand opportunities to attend private schools through a much more robust system of education tax credits. This would not only provide greater opportunity for students, but also would put competitive pressure on public schools to improve.

Read Tough Crowd here.